


Learning To Live Again

by renee_alexandrite



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Amputees, Confusion, Cuddling, Dog - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Future nsfw, Memory Loss, Mentions of Fingering, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shooting, Swearing, dumping suitcases, past conflict
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 03:38:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6837625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renee_alexandrite/pseuds/renee_alexandrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garnet has lost a lot, but especially after an incident that's left her without her left leg and most of her memory surrounding the incident.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving in

**Author's Note:**

> My first major post! I hope you enjoy. Comments and assistance are welcome.

Garnet held her phone to her face, reading the tag 206B over and over again in her head. Rooming with her this year would be Amethyst, Pearl, and a fourth, who remained unknown. Pearl and Amethyst apparently knew her because they had mentioned to Garnet that she'd approve of her. From the email encasing the room number, she guessed that the new girl's name was Lapis. She thought, "Do I know this name?" She couldn't remember much. Honestly, she wasn't sure what was what since the accident. She shuttered at the stories told of what happened.

Pushing the memories aside, Garnet shuffled the phone and her papers in her arms while her right foot and new prosthetic left foot carried her down the hall.

It was only a couple of minutes of walking, or shuffling in her case, when she found the room tag 206B. She drew a long, deep breath, hoping she didn't read the room number wrong, and inserted the key with a little jingle and opened the door.

"Hey! Garnet!" Amethyst shouted. "Pearl! Garnet's here!"

Pearl walked in from the bathroom into the living room to see the wonderful girl herself. "Hello Garnet!" Pearl chimed delightfully.

"Hi guys, I see I've made it to the right room."

"Sure you did!" Amethyst assured.

The large gem walked into the room and set her backpack down by the archway into what looked like the kitchen. She was glad to see them smiling and happy. They hadn't seen Garnet since the accident either, well, at least Pearl. Amethyst was in the same hospital as Garnet. In reality, she wasn't sure when she'd see any of her friends as a group again. It was sure a big relief that Ame and Pearl welcomed her like this.

Amethyst took a jump to say something about Garnet's odd looking, new appendage under her left pant leg. "I see you've figured out this new leg business, eh?"

Garnet nodded and replied, "Yeah, its weirder than the doctors told me it was going to be."

Pearl sat down as they watched Garnet roll up her soft pants to unveil a large plastic and carbon fiber contraption that was strapped and vacuumed to her left thigh, about half way up. Pearl asked timidly, "How does it feel?"

"Meh, it's definitely better than no leg, that's for sure."

They both smiled. Garnet knew Pearl. She would never even think so much as to offend or hurt her, or really anybody for that matter. All Pearl cared about was whether garnet felt okay, and that's what Amethyst loved about Pearl.

Their smiles quickly became curious faces when they heard another set of keys poking into the keyhole in the front door. Garnet wondered if this was the new girl, Lapis. Amethyst stood from her seat to see who the new visitor was.

The door squeaked open as Lapis poked her head in. "Hello?" Lapis said quietly.

"Such a small voice for a small girl." Garnet thought as she walked towards the far bed to sit.

Pearl stood and held open the door to let Lapis in.

"I'm sorry I'm so late, the elevator was running weirdly and there was this one girl who was trying to talk to me, and one of my bags didn't come in yet and-"

"It's okay, Lapis." Amethyst interrupted. She walked towards her to assist with the gigantic suitcase that didn't seem to fit her size. "It didn't take you too long. A lot of things happen in between places." She assured her.

"I guess." Lapis grinned at the friends' acceptance.

Shortly after the giant suitcase was hauled in, a little scraggly dog wiggled through the door. On it's back was a little doggie pack with a foldable bowl, a little water bottle, and a bag of food sticking out of the pockets. A few inches below the top of the dog's pack, on the left side, was an army name patch with the stitching spelling out "DINO"

Amethyst moved Lapis' giant suitcase past Garnet to the other side of the TV. The little dog followed Lapis throughout the rom, not even budging to sniff any of the new people. It finally sat down at lapis' feet. The seemingly elegant, but clumsy, blue gem kneeled down to the tiny dog. She pet it's head and said, "Good boy, you're done for now." The dog wagged it's tail and stood up. Lapis un-did the Velcro in the front and underside of the luggage and held it up. Dino backed out from under the pack. Lapis stood and set the pack of doggie necessities on her suitcase. Dino wandered over to Pearl to sniff her and be pet. Pearl asked, " Is It okay if I pet him? He seems like a working dog; I don't want to disturb him."

Lapis looked over. "Yeah, it's fine. He knows when he's off duty. He'll never go up to someone else and be happy unless he's sure I don't need anything else."

Pearl picked up the small dog and pet his tiny head, peppering him with praise and kisses. Amethyst looked over and watched the long woman love the dog, a little jealous too.

Lapis took a seat on one of the chairs near the TV. "Anyway, Amethyst, how are you? It's been awhile since I talked to you guys over the skype chat."

"I'm okay. Pearl's definitely doing fine, as you can see. You look a little smaller now than we remember."

Lapis looked over to see Pearl, still playing with Dino like she's never seen a dog before. The blue gem replied, "Eh, I've always been really small. Heh, my voice fits my body I guess. And, traveling can be a little stressful." Amethyst nodded in agreement and they both laughed a little.

Lapis looked over to Garnet sitting on the other bed across the room. "Hey Amethyst, who's this?" Lapis asked, gesturing to Garnet.

"Hey G, introduce yourself, you seem like you want to know her."

She blushed and smiled a little at the sudden attention. "Hey Lapis, I'm Garnet."

Lapis' eyes lit up at the full voice of the large gem. "Hello, Garnet. How are you?"

"I'm okay, I guess. Heh, How are you?"

"All I can say is I'm happy I made it up here." Lapis smiled.

Garnet giggled at the triumphant adventure of Lapis, the suitcase, and the little dog playing through her head.

"Amethyst's told me a lot about you. As soon as I heard I was rooming with you guys this year, I couldn't wait to meet you."

Garnet flashed a little embarrassed look at Amethyst who quickly turned away to check if Pearl hadn't smothered the poor dog to death yet.

"Really?" She pulled a mischievous smile. "Well, these two in particular have withheld every bit of information from me on our fourth roommate." A long hand gestured to the two, now playing with Dino together. "They said that I should wait to meet you in person. It would be a better experience for me." Garnet concluded. "And I think they were right." She flashed a quick flirty grin that soon transformed back into a soft face. Lapis grinned and exchanged a subtle, suggestive eyebrow with the large gem.

"Heh, G. I told you you'd like her better in person." Amethyst teased. Garnet blushed again and looked over towards her. Pearl finally let Dino breathe and walk around a little bit.

"Anyway, it's almost 4 and i'm kinda hungry. Pearl had mentioned food earlier, but I'd forgot all about it." She continued, offering a hand to the long girl to help her up. "P, lets go get some late lunch. I think Garnet deserves a little time to cool down with a fresh dose of Lapis."

"I am perfectly fine, thank you very much." Garnet protested.

"Aw, come on G, this is the first time I've seen you smile like that in a while. You deserve some time to chill and get to know Lapis."

Pearl nodded in agreement. "I think it'll be good for you, honestly."

Lapis smiled slightly and walked out to go find the bathroom.

"Eh, I guess. How long will you guys be gone?"

Amethyst thought for a minute. "We'll be back before midnight probably." Amethyst picked up Pearl and slung her over her one strong shoulder. Pearl giggled and smiled. Ame used her other 'hand' to open the front door, As they walked out, the ivory-haired girl tickled Pearl, only causing her to giggle more. The door closed gently shut. Garnet listened to Pearl's giggles echo down the hall until the elevator dinged and prepared to leave the current floor.

Garnet laid back into the bed beneath her.

"Lapis." She thought to herself. "Lapis... Where the hell could I have heard this name from?" Garnet's brain was jolting itself trying to find any bit of information it had on the name. She'd give anything to know more about the blue gem.

Drawing in a long, slow breath, she wondered if the accident had damaged more of her brain than she'd originally thought. Amethyst said it wasn't really something to worry about. That it was something she'd find out the answer to in no time, but she couldn't help but wonder.


	2. Unpacking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garnet and Lapis have a moment to introduce themselves properly, and dump lapis' suitcase out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short, I know. I'm sorry. I couldn't figure out where I wanted to split it for chapters, this one got the short straw... hehe I'm bad with jokes sorry

Garnet sat on the bed, pondering about what she might've lost, and a little of what she might've not. She didn't know what to think about it. Lapis wandered back into the room with Dino trailing right behind her. "Where'd Amethyst and Pearl go?"

Garnet poked her head up at the question. "Eh, they went to go get some late lunch. From what I remember, Amethyst likes to eat."

"Oh, okay." Lapis kneeled and picked up Dino. "Anyway. I haven't properly introduced myself yet. I'm Lapis. I came from the other side of the state. I wasn't really sure what to expect coming here."

"I'm Garnet. I ended up here from-" Garnet paused. "Uh, shit, I don't remember."

Lapis looked a little confused.

"Well, all I know is that I'm not from around here. Heh, you can ask Amethyst. She probably knows." Garnet gave an honest smile.

"Huh." Lapis shrugged it off. "Ok well, this is Dino. He's my emotional support dog. He just follows me around and makes sure I'm okay."

"That must be nice, knowing you have a little buddy with you. How long have you had him?"

"I got him about 7 months ago when something happened to me. I was never told what though."

"Ah." _7 months ago_ _..._ She thought for a moment. "Well, do you need a hand at unpacking? Or have you eyed the beds enough to figure out where you're going to sleep?" Garnet gestured about the room. "Pearl and Amethyst claimed the one in the corner over there." They both turned to look at the mess of a bed pearl had made when her and Ame got to the room. "I haven't figured out which bed I'm going to take, so I'll leave that up to you."

"I guess we could get to unpacking. I think I'll take the one in the corner."

Lapis shuffled over to the bed to put Dino down. Garnet rolled off her bed and brought the oversized suitcase over onto Lapis' bed. She moved over as Lapis took over and unzipped the suitcase. Mounds of clothing and other stuff tumbled out. Garnet smiled, she wasn't the only one who seemed to over-pack.

"Can you fold these and just set them on the other side of the bed?"

"Sure, just start throwing them over."

Lapis tossed a few shirts over the top of the suitcase to Garnet. She piled them next to her and started folding, to the extent her memory allowed. The shirts ended up in little unconventional squares, but sure were small. As she finished with the shirts, Lapis threw over skirts and pants. Their method of tossing and folding seemed almost planned as Lapis sorted and Garnet made squares out of not-so-square things.

"That's everything. I'll just keep the small stuff in the suitcase for now.' Lapis smiled. "Thank you."

Garnet nodded in return. She picked up the suitcase and moved it back next to the TV. Immediately after the suitcase was on the floor, she looked down to see a little gem wrapped around her torso.

 Lapis looked up at her. "Thank you."

Garnet laid her arms gently around the small gem and hugged back. Her stomach fluttered like a storm.


	3. What Started it All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst comes home with a shitfaced Pearl. Garnet decides to ask what started it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't intend for this part to come out so soon in the story but eh..

Later that night, Garnet was sitting on her bed looking out the window. Lapis had explored the house and was lounging in the living room watching TV with Dino. A key made the door lock jingle and swing open, allowing Amethyst to enter, carrying Pearl, who was indeed shitfaced. Garnet held a confused look at them.

"The restaurant had her favorite drink. 'Sunrise at Midnight' she calls it." Amethyst explained.

She could tell Amethyst had a few in her too. The small girl wasn't a cheap date when it came to drinks, so she wasn't as phased as the other.

Feeling pleasantly loose, Amethyst was now lounging on the bed with Pearl curled beside her, almost asleep.

"How was dinner?" Garnet asked.

"Pretty good. 5 glasses of the Sunrise stuff, here she is now." Amethyst looked down at Pearl. "Just watch, later tonight when she wakes up she's going to want something, and want it bad." Amethyst laughed.

"Damn, she's really into it now? I remember when you first introduced her to the lewd act, she only wanted it maybe once in a blue moon, but now it's right after she naps from being shitfaced?" Garnet chuckled at the mental picture.

"Yeah, it's interesting. She was hinting to me on the train ride here to play with her, but I was just too damn tired."

"Go figure." Garnet laughed a little harder at the thought of a ravenously sex hungry Pearl begging Amethyst to bury her digits in her holes.

"Wow G, I'm surprised you remember all that stuff. Have you thought about how much you actually remember?"

"More than I initially thought." Garnet shrugged. "Heh, I remember one time when I was little, I fell out of a tree and smashed my knee on a rock."

"Do you remember anything recent? I hate to bring It back up, but- do you remember what happened?" Amethyst wiggled her mechanical fingers. "I just don't want to be the only one that remembers it."

Garnet paused. "I only know what the doctors and my visitors told me. For my own memory of it, I'm shot. Literally."

Both girls laughed dryly at the cheese.

"I know it's kind of bittersweet, but I found out the girl who the whole thing started over is okay. This was a while ago, but you deserve to know. Pearl hates when I bring this entire subject up, but still, you deserve to know, you know, since you're out of hospital and moving about on your own now." Amethyst gave a hopeful smile.

"Did they ever tell you who it was? Because I don't remember anything surrounding this."

"No they didn't. Honestly G, I didn't even know you had beef with the people who attacked you, so even if they did tell me, I probably wouldn't have known who."

"Damn, I wish they did..." Garnet sighed. "Amethyst, what actually happened? Like, how did this start?"

Amethyst drew in a long, deep breath. "You sure you want to know, G?"

"I'll probably forget it in a few hours anyway... Besides, what else have I got to lose." She chuckled.

"I mean, I guess." Ame thought for a minute, trying to remember herself what happened.

Finally, she took another deep breath, checking if Pearl was asleep before continuing. "Do you remember anything from high school? I know it was before the accident but still, do you?"

"I remember we used to have a lot of friends, and I remember when I used to have just two friends. You and Pearl."

"I'm glad we're important to you." She giggled. "Do you remember anyone you used to date? Or who you liked?"

"Not really, I mean, for a while, I did have a crush on you, but that's about it for my memory." Garnet shrugged.

"Really? Me? Surprising. Heh, Pearl's not the only one to be called crazy then." Amethyst smiled. "Anyway, back on the subject. Do you remember anyone or group of people we used to refer to as 'The Bad Kids'?"

"Who?"

"You know, Lars, Maurice, Jonah, and Braxton?"

"Doesn't ring a bell." Garnet pondered.

"Well, anyway. Rumor got out that once way back when, you decided to take one of the Bad Kids' girls out for a night of 'fun'. And when she went back with them, she didn't want to stay with them anymore." Amethyst explained, with Pearl still asleep. "They got angry... Very angry. They attacked and tortured her until she told them who made her 'change'." She took a deep breath. "They came after us... with a lot of people. They had the girl in a chokehold with a gun to her head. They approached us and yelled 'HEY FUCKFACE! DID YOU FUCKING CONVERT MY GIRLFRIEND TO YOUR GAY-ASS SHIT?'" Amethyst's voice cracked a little. "You tried to say something, but they- they started shooting.

Garnet sat up from her bed, listening.

"You still doin okay, G? I know this is a lot."

"Uh, yeah." She took a breath. "Please, go on."

Amethyst nodded. "I was by your side when they started shooting. They were aiming right for you. Almost instinctively, I- I..." Amethyst trembled a little, looked down and gently stroked her mechanical arm.

"You blocked a shot straight to me, didn't you?"

"I cared about you! You didn't deserve what they were doing to you." A tear cascaded from her face.

"Amethyst..." Garnet sighed.

"You're lucky you don't remember this."

"I feel horrible that this is all on you to remember." She said with glossy eyes.

"It's not really just me, it's Pearl too. She was behind us a ways with a few other friends though-"

"But still, just because I have no personal recollection of it doesn't mean it has to lie solely in you guys. This issue started because of me. It's only fair." Garnet patted her fancy new leg. "Is there more to the story? and are you okay with telling it?"

"Yeah, you want me to go on?"

Garnet nodded.

"I crumbed to the floor after taking the shot. As I was going down, they shot again. That bullet missed me and went into your knee. By then, they were satisfied with both of us being grounded and unable to fight back. They approached us and started kicked you. I tried to crawl towards you to help, but they shot me again in my shoulder. I watched, helpless as they started dropping rocks on you and stuff. By the time Pearl was by my side, school security was already there to pull them away and phone medics. a couple minutes, at least, went by, they just kicked you, and- and beat you. Someone loaded me on a stretcher and wheeled me away. I fought. I screamed your name, I cried. I thought... you know... I lost you."

Trails of tiny tears were shining in the lamp light below Garnet's eyes.

"They wouldn't let me down to go help you. One of the guys said I'd already lost a lot of blood and needed urgent attention. I screamed bullshit, I was less important." Amethyst shivered at the last sentence. Tears were making their way down her face too.

Garnet was silent. She felt fragile, like something had been ripped out of her. "Amethyst." She opened her arms. The purple gem set Pearl aside to rest against Garnet's chest. They shared tears, wrapped in eachother's embrace.

 After a moment, Garnet looked down.

"I owe my life to you, Amethyst."

"I just want revenge on those damn kids." She replied through Garnet's chest.

"Just don't worry about it now. We'll get it someday. I'm okay. You're okay. We might not have ourselves entirely, but we're alive. Thank you."

Garnet gently squeezed the purple gem, thinking about what Ame had actually done for her. Proper revenge was the only way to repay her.

-

A few moments had passed, "Let me put you back with Pearl. You should get some sleep." Garnet said quietly.

Amethyst nodded and Garnet slid off the bed. She walked over, carrying the small gem and set her next to Pearl. Ame sprawled out on the bed, repositioning herself to accommodate the shitfaced lanky one.

"I'm gonna head back out and check on Lapis, maybe make some dinner myself. You need anything?"

"Nah, I'm good.

"Alright." Garnet walked towards the archway into the kitchen and looked back. "Amethyst, thank you. For everything."

"Catch." Amethyst took something out of her pocket and threw it to Garnet.

She caught it and looked down. It was a picture. A picture of the three of them, just before Amethyst and Pearl started dating. When they were all just friends. Before the accident, or rather 'attack'.  She turned the photo over.

'SENIOR YEAR - LEARY HS'


End file.
